Status message

The act, omission, or failure of any official, agent, or other person acting for any individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust, within the scope of his employment or office, shall be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust as well as of such official, agent, or other person.

Title 17 published on 2014-04-01

The following are only the Rules published in the Federal Register after the published date of Title 17.

For a complete list of all Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices view the Rulemaking tab.

2014-09-26; vol. 79 # 187 - Friday, September 26, 2014

79 FR 57767 - Exclusion of Utility Operations-Related Swaps With Utility Special Entities From De Minimis Threshold for Swaps With Special Entities

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is amending its regulations (Amendments) in order to permit a person to exclude utility operations-related swaps entered into with utility special entities in calculating the aggregate gross notional amount of the person's swap positions, solely for purposes of the de minimis exception applicable to swaps with special entities.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is correcting final rules published in the Federal Register of November 14, 2013 (“final rules”). Those rules, which adopted new regulations and amended existing regulations requiring enhanced customer protections, risk management programs, internal monitoring and controls, capital and liquidity standards, customer disclosures, and auditing and examination programs for futures commission merchants, took effect on January 13, 2014. This correction amends erroneous cross-references found in three sections of the final rules. Additionally, this correction amends one section of the final rules to insert language that was in the proposed rulemaking, and which was stated as being adopted in the preamble to the final rules, but was erroneously omitted from the final rule text.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission” or “CFTC”) is correcting final rules published in the Federal Register of November 14, 2013 (78 FR 68506). Those rules, 17 CFR Parts 1, 3, 22, 30, and 140, took effect on January 13, 2014. This correction amends Appendix B to 17 CFR 1.20 and Appendix B to 17 CFR 1.26 by removing a phrase from both appendices.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

The comment periods for the Aggregation Proposal published November 15, 2013, at 78 FR 68946, and for the Position Limits Proposal published December 12, 2013, at 78 FR 75680, reopened on December 9, 2014, and will close on January 22, 2015.

17 CFR Parts 1, 15, 17, 19, 32, 37, 38, 140, and 150

Summary

On December 12, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Position Limits Proposal”) to establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. On November 15, 2013, the Commission published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Aggregation Proposal”) to amend existing regulations setting out the Commission's policy for aggregation under its position limits regime. On December 9, 2014, the Commission's Agricultural Advisory Committee held a public meeting that considered, among other matters, deliverable supply and exemptions for bona fide hedging positions. In conjunction with the meeting of the Commission's Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Commission posted questions and presentation materials on the Commission's Web site; additionally, access to a video webcast of the meeting has been added to the Web site. To provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at the Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting, the Commission reopened the comment periods for an additional 45 days, from December 9, 2014 to January 22, 2015. The Commission is providing notice and clarification that, in addition to commenting on the agenda issues noted in the December 4, 2014, Federal Register release providing notice of the re-opened comment period, comments may be made on the issues addressed at the meeting or in the associated materials posted to the Commission's Web site, as they pertain to agricultural commodities.

2014-12-04; vol. 79 # 233 - Thursday, December 4, 2014

79 FR 71973 - Position Limits for Derivatives and Aggregation of Positions

The comment periods for the Aggregation Proposal published November 15, 2013, at 78 FR 68946, and for the Position Limits Proposal published December 12, 2013, at 78 FR 75680, will reopen on December 9, 2014, and close on January 22, 2015.

17 CFR Parts 1, 15, 17, 19, 32, 37, 38, 140, and 150

Summary

On December 12, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Position Limits Proposal”) to establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. On November 15, 2013, the Commission published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Aggregation Proposal”) to amend existing regulations setting out the Commission's policy for aggregation under its position limits regime. The Commission's Agricultural Advisory Committee has scheduled a public meeting to be held on December 9, 2014, which will consider, among other matters, deliverable supply and exemptions for bona fide hedging positions. To provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at the Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting, the Commission is reopening the comment periods for an additional 45 days. Comments should be limited to the following issues as they pertain to agricultural commodities: Hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise; and the process for estimating deliverable supplies used in the setting of spot month limits.

In accordance with section 712(d)(4) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board of Governors”), are jointly issuing the CFTC's proposed clarification of its interpretation concerning forward contracts with embedded volumetric optionality. The CFTC invites public comment on all aspects of its proposed interpretation.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “Commission” or “CFTC”) is proposing to amend Commission Rule 1.35(a) (the “Proposal”) to: provide that all records required to be maintained under this regulation must be searchable; clarify that all records be kept in a form and manner that allows for identification of a particular transaction, except that records of oral and written communications leading to the execution of a transaction in a commodity interest and related cash or forward transactions are not required to be kept in a form and manner that allows for identification of a particular transaction; exclude unregistered members of designated contract markets (“DCMs”) and swap execution facilities (“SEFs”) from the requirements to retain text messages and to maintain records in a particular form and manner; and exclude commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) from the oral recordkeeping requirement.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission” or “CFTC”) is proposing to revise the Residual Interest Deadline in Commission Rule 1.22. The amendment would remove the December 31, 2018 termination date for the phased-in compliance schedule for futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) and provide assurance that the Residual Interest Deadline would only be revised through a separate Commission rulemaking.

2014-09-26; vol. 79 # 187 - Friday, September 26, 2014

79 FR 57767 - Exclusion of Utility Operations-Related Swaps With Utility Special Entities From De Minimis Threshold for Swaps With Special Entities

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is amending its regulations (Amendments) in order to permit a person to exclude utility operations-related swaps entered into with utility special entities in calculating the aggregate gross notional amount of the person's swap positions, solely for purposes of the de minimis exception applicable to swaps with special entities.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is correcting final rules published in the Federal Register of November 14, 2013 (“final rules”). Those rules, which adopted new regulations and amended existing regulations requiring enhanced customer protections, risk management programs, internal monitoring and controls, capital and liquidity standards, customer disclosures, and auditing and examination programs for futures commission merchants, took effect on January 13, 2014. This correction amends erroneous cross-references found in three sections of the final rules. Additionally, this correction amends one section of the final rules to insert language that was in the proposed rulemaking, and which was stated as being adopted in the preamble to the final rules, but was erroneously omitted from the final rule text.

2014-07-03; vol. 79 # 128 - Thursday, July 3, 2014

79 FR 37973 - Position Limits for Derivatives and Aggregation of Positions

The comment periods for the Aggregation Proposal published November 15, 2013, at 78 FR 68946, and for the Position Limits Proposal published December 12, 2013, at 78 FR 75680, will close on August 4, 2014.

17 CFR Parts 1, 15, 17, 19, 32, 37, 38, 140, and 150

Summary

On December 12, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Position Limits Proposal”) to establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. On November 15, 2013, the Commission published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Aggregation Proposal”) to amend existing regulations setting out the Commission's policy for aggregation under its position limits regime. In addition, the Commission directed staff to hold a public roundtable on June 19, 2014, to consider certain issues regarding position limits for physical commodity derivatives. In order to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the issues to be discussed at the roundtable, the Commission published notice in the Federal Register on May 29, 2014, that the comment periods for the Position Limits Proposal and the Aggregation Proposal were reopened, starting June 12, 2014 (one week before the roundtable) and ending July 3, 2014 (two weeks following the roundtable). To provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at the roundtable, the Commission is now further extending the comment period. Comments should be limited to the issues of hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise, including gross hedging, cross-commodity hedging, anticipatory hedging, and the process for obtaining a non-enumerated exemption; the setting of spot month limits in physical-delivery and cash-settled contracts and a conditional spot-month limit exemption; the setting of non-spot limits for wheat contracts; the aggregation exemption for certain ownership interests of greater than 50 percent in an owned entity; and aggregation based on substantially identical trading strategies.

2014-06-02; vol. 79 # 105 - Monday, June 2, 2014

79 FR 31238 - Exclusion of Utility Operations-Related Swaps With Utility Special Entities From De Minimis Threshold for Swaps With Special Entities

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is proposing to amend its regulations (Proposal) to permit a person to exclude utility operations-related swaps with utility special entities in calculating the aggregate gross notional amount of the person's swap positions solely for purposes of the de minimis exception applicable to swaps with special entities.

2014-05-29; vol. 79 # 103 - Thursday, May 29, 2014

79 FR 30762 - Position Limits for Derivatives and Aggregation of Positions

The comment periods for the Aggregation Proposal published November 15, 2013, at 78 FR 68946, and for the Position Limits Proposal published December 12, 2013, at 78 FR 75680, will reopen on June 12, 2014, and close on July 3, 2014.

17 CFR Parts 1, 15, 17, 19, 32, 37, 38, 140, and 150

Summary

On December 12, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Position Limits Proposal”) to establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. On November 15, 2013, the Commission published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Aggregation Proposal”) to amend existing regulations setting out the Commission's policy for aggregation under its position limits regime. The Commission has directed staff to hold a public roundtable on June 19, 2014, to consider certain issues regarding position limits for physical commodity derivatives. In order to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the issues to be discussed at the roundtable, the Commission will reopen the comment periods for the Position Limits Proposal and the Aggregation Proposal for a three-week period starting June 12, 2014 (one week before the roundtable) and ending July 3, 2014 (two weeks following the roundtable). Comments should be limited to the issues of hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise, including gross hedging, cross-commodity hedging, anticipatory hedging, and the process for obtaining a non-enumerated exemption; the setting of spot month limits in physical-delivery and cash-settled contracts and a conditional spot-month limit exemption; the setting of non-spot limits for wheat contracts; the aggregation exemption for certain ownership interests of greater than 50 percent in an owned entity; and aggregation based on substantially identical trading strategies.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission” or “CFTC”) is correcting final rules published in the Federal Register of November 14, 2013 (78 FR 68506). Those rules, 17 CFR Parts 1, 3, 22, 30, and 140, took effect on January 13, 2014. This correction amends Appendix B to 17 CFR 1.20 and Appendix B to 17 CFR 1.26 by removing a phrase from both appendices.